WASHINGTON — Richard Cordray announced that Friday would be his last day leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and named one of his lieutenants to immediately take over as acting director, setting up a potential standoff with the Trump administration over the controversial agency’s leadership.
In a memo to the consumer watchdog’s employees, Cordray said his current chief of staff, Leandra English, will take the reins. English has held several leadership roles under Cordray, a Barack Obama appointee who was the CFPB’s first-ever director.
English’s surprise promotion could complicate President Donald Trump’s plans to start remaking the CFPB, an agency that has drawn criticism from Republican lawmakers who blame it for burdening banks with rules that have hurt lending.
Cordray announced last week that he would step down at the end of November, prompting administration officials to consider temporarily installing White House budget director Mick Mulvaney atop the agency.
